BOONE—Appalachian State University’s Cycling Team won the Atlantic Coast Cycling Conference Cyclocross championship Dec. 3-4 in Blacksburg, Va. This is the team’s second consecutive Division I ACCC championship win.

Team members Reid Beloni and Nina Laughlin also took home the Individual Omnium championship titles for men and women, respectively.

The 2010-11 season was the first season that Appalachian’s cycling team competed as a Division I team. Due to a USA Cycling Collegiate rule, the team was required to move up from Division II to Division I. The team now competes against teams from universities with larger cycling programs, including Virginia Tech, N.C. State, West Virginia and Maryland, among others.

Since 2008, the team has won three national titles in Division II competition and is continuing its success as a Division I team.

“Our main goal as a team, and what I think sets Appalachian apart from other teams, is development,” said Sean Weddell, Appalachian Cycling advisor and coach. “Many students have never ridden in competition before joining Appalachian’s cycling team, but they’re doing a fantastic job.”

The team’s goal is to be a top five team nationally after all four national competitions which include track in September, mountain bike November, cyclocross January and road in May. The team’s next competition will be the Cyclocross Nationals Jan. 4-8 in Madison, Wis.